Closet.



H. M. KEITH.

CLOSET.

APPLICATION TILED MAR.15, 1913. 1,091,346. 'Patented Mar. 24, 1914 2gums-SHEET 1.

fi 'gj Wow H. M. KEITH.

CLOSET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.15, 1913. 1 091 346. Patented Mar. 24, 191 i 2SHEETS-SHEBT 2. I: 21

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COLUMBIA FLANOORAPH co.. WASHINGTON u. c.

HENRY M. KEITH, OF ELDORADO, ILLINOIS.

CLOSE-T.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. KEITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Eldorado, in the county of Saline and State of Illinois,have invented new and useful Improvements in Closets, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to baths and closets and has for an object toprovide a closet of a simple and durable construction and which isnormally in closed position and will be automatically opened when theseat ring is moved into operative position.

The invention embodies, among other features, a closet provided withwater seals whereby, when the sealing lid is in closed position on thecloset, the receptacle will be substantially air-tight.

The invention still further embodies means whereby the water seals willbe automatically kept filled with water and in which, when the seat ringis in inoperative position, the sealing lid will be in closed position,the said sealing lid being automatically movable into an open positionwhen the seat ring is swung into an operative position with respect tothe receptacle.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to theaccompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification, inwhich similar characters of ref erence denote corresponding parts in allthe views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the closet showing the same in closedposition; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the same in open position;Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in ig. 2; Fig.4iis a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 1; Fig. 5is a vertical sectional view of the supply tank showing the twoway valveconnecting the main supply tank and the auxiliary tank forming a partthere of; and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the tank showing the two-wayvalve in closed position with respect to the main supply.

Referring more particularly to the views, I disclose a closet 10including a receptacle 11 having the upper end thereof terminating in anannular flange 12 cast or formed to provide an annular groove 19 adaptedto befilled with water to provide a water seal 14. A top 15 is supportedon the receptacle 11 by bolting or otherwise securing the top theretoand the said top is provided with a central opening 16. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 15, 1913.

, Patented Mar. 24, 1914. Serial No, 754,406.

edges of the top forming the opening c011- stitute an annular: flange 17arranged to form a groove 18 adapted to be filled with water toconstitute a water seal 19. A depending sealing flange 20 is formed onthe under side of the top 15 and depends in the annular groove 13 tocomplete thewater seal 14, as will be readily apparent, and it will beunderstood that the outer wall of the groove 13 is higher than the innerwall thereof so that if the water in the groove should overflow the samewill pass into the receptacle 11, this being also true of the outer wallof the groove 18 with respect to the inner wall thereof and which is notquite as high as the outer wall so that an overflow of water in thegroove 18 will result in the water overflowing and passing into thereceptacle 11.

A sealing lid 21 is provided for the purpose of sealing the opening 16,the said sealing lid having a depending sealing flange 22 adapted torepose in the groove 18 and complete the water seal 19 in the samemanner that the sealing flange 2O depends in the groove 13. Secured tothe sealing lid 21 is a bracket 23 including a slotted guide member 24in which is received an arc shaped track 25 supported adjacent thereceptacle 11 and in spaced relation thereto so that when the guidemember 24 operates over the track in a horizontal plane the sealing lid21 will be moved from closed position into open position relatively tothe opening 16 in the top 15 of the receptacle 11. The rear end of thebracket 23 is mounted to swing vertically on the front end of a pearshaped plate 26 and adapted to swing horizontally above the receptacle11 and having pivot-a1 connection with the receptacle at its rear outerend, the said plate being provided with a vertical curved slot 27commencing at the rear tapered end of the plate and extending inwardlyand curved and terminating at substantially the medial port-ion of theplate.

A seat ring 28 is carried on an actuating member 29 constituting asupport for the seat ring and mounted to swing on the receptacle 11,with the said actuating member alining with the entrance of the slot 27.Arranged to slide beneath the plate 26 is a lifting member 30 providedwith an integral cam shaped head 31 adapted to engage the bracket 23 andraise the sealing lid to move the sealing flange 22 out of the groove 18when a forward movement is imparted to the lifting member, the rear endof the said lifting member having a pin and slot conber and, similarly,when the seat ring is swung upwardly into inoperative position, thelifting member will be retreated to normal and initial position owing tothe rearward swing of the upper portion of the actuating member 29.

Now as shown in Fig. 1, when the sealing lid 21 is in closed and sealingposition, as mentioned heretofore, and it is desired to open thereceptacle and arrange the seat ring 28 in proper position on thereceptacle, a downward forward pull is exerted on the seat ring which isnormally in vertical position as shown in Fig. 3, and as the seat ringis swung forwardly and downwardly the actuating member 29, hearingagainst the lifting member 30, will advance the same beneath the plate26 until the head 31 of the lifting member engages the bracket 23, thusraising the sealing lid 21 away from the receptacle sufliciently toremove the sealing flange 22 of the sealing lid from the groove 18. Nowat the moment that the seat ring is swung forwardly and downwardly theactuating member 29 will enter the slot 27 and when it reaches thecurved part of the slot, the plate 26 will be swung horizontally in Viewof the fact that the actuating member 29 has simply a vertical swingingmovement and no lateral movement, whereas the plate is mounted to swingin a horizontal direction and perpendicularly to the swinging movementof the actuating member. Therefore, on the downward, forward, swingingmovement of the seat ring the actuating member 29, operating in the slot27 of the plate 26, will swing the plate horizontally, thus alsoswinging the sealing lid 21 horizontally to uncover the opening 16, theguide member 2a of the bracket 23 being adapted to operate over thetrack 25 described heretofore. Therefore, as the seat ring is swungdownwardly the sealing lid will be moved into open position and the seatring will take its place on the receptacle 11, thus covering the groove18 as will be readily apparent by referring to th views. hen it isdesired to return the seat ring 28' to inoperative position the same isswung upwardly and rearwardly and in consequence thereof the actuatingmember 29 will be returned toward initial position and operatein theslot 27, thus returning the plate 26 to initial position andconsequently returning the sealing lid 21 to closed position on thereceptacle. A contractile spring 32 is preferably connected to theactuating member 29 and the receptacle 11 for the purpose offacilitating the return movement of the actuating member.

N ow in order to at all times provide perfeet water seals 14L and 19 Iprovide a tank 33 including an auxiliary tank 3t having connection withthe tank 33 by a suitable pipe 35. A pipe 36 is also provided andincludes a branch pipe 37 terminating in the water seal 14, while themain portion of the pipe 36 terminates in the water seal 19, the upperend of the pipe 36 being arranged to terminate in a union 38 havingconnection with the pipe 35 connecting the tank 33 with the auxiliarytank 34, a two-way valve 39 being arranged to rotate in the union 38 andincluding an L-shaped passage 40 adapted to register with the portion ofthe pipe 35 carried by the auxiliary tank 3a and the portion of the pipecarried by the tank 33,when the valve is in one position, whereas whenthe valve is in another position the passage l0 will register with thepipe 35 connected to the auxiliary tank 3 1 and the pipe 36 forconveying water from the auxiliary tank to the water seals 14: and 19.The valve 39 carries an exterior lever 41 to which is pivotallyconnected one end of a rod 42 having the other end thereof pivotallyconnected to the actuating member 29. Now it will be apparent that whenthe seat ring is moved into operative position the forward swingingmovement of the upper portion of the actuating member will exert a pullon the rod 12, thus actuating the valve 39 so that the passage 40 willform a connection between the tank 33 and auxiliary tank 3 1 and aportion of the water contained in the main tank 33 will therefore passinto and fill the auxiliary tank 34. Now when the seat ring is returnedto an inoperative position a push will be exerted against the rod t2,thus actuating the valve to destroy the complete connection between thetank and auxiliary tank and establish a connection between the auxiliarytank and the pipe 36 so that the water contained in the auxiliary tankwill flow through the pipe 36 and into the grooves 13 and 18 to fill thesame and reopen the water seals 14: and 19, it being apparent that waterwill be admitted to the grooves of the water seals each time that theseat ring is moved into and out of operative position.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular kindof receptacle that is disclosed herein and that suitable traps of anyordinary and known construction may be used without departing from thespirit of the invention, it being further understood that the object ofthe invention is to provide a closet which will be in an air-tightcondition when not in use and whizh must be unsealed before it can beuse By providing a closet of this character and as disclosed in thedrawings, it will be apparent that the water seals are importantadjuncts in retaining the closet in sealed position when it is not inuse, the sealing lid being automatically movable into open position withrespect to the receptacle, when the seat ring is swung downwardly intooperative position while at the same time when the seat ring is swunginto operative position and then returned to inoperative position waterwill be admitted to the grooves of the water seals to take the place ofany water which may'have evaporated or accidentally spilled therefrom.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a closet, the combination with a receptacle provided with anopening, of a sealing lid for normally closing the opening, a platemounted to swing horizontally on the receptacle and provided with acurved slot, an actuating member mounted to swing on the receptacle andextending through the curved slot of the plate to actuate the plate andmove the sealing lid into and out of sealing position when the actuatingmember is operated, a seat ring carried by the actuating member andmovable therewith, and means carried by the receptacle and movable bythe actuating member to raise the sealing lid from closed position topermit the same to be swung horizontally into open position when theactuating member is operated.

2. In a closet, the combination with a receptacle provided with anopening, of a sealing lid normally closing the opening, a slotted platecarried by the receptacle and movable horizontally, a pivotal connectionbetween the sealing lid and the plate for moving the sealing lidhorizontally when the plate is actuated, a bracket on the receptacle forguiding the sealing lid into or out of closing position, aspring-engaged actuating member mounted to swing on the receptacle andextending through the slot of the said plate for operating the platewhen the said actuating member is operated, and a seat ring carried bythe actuating member and movable therewith to occupy the place of thesealing lid when the sealing lid has been swung into open position bythe operation of the said plate.

3. In a closet, the combination with a receptacle having a plurality ofwater seals, of a main supply tank, an auxiliary supply receptacle, a"alve for controlling the supply tank, a pipe connecting the auxiliarysupply tank with the said water seals, an actuating member mounted toswing on the receptacle, a valve for controlling the supply of fluidfrom the main sup-ply tank to the auxiliary tank and from the auxiliarytank to the said water seals, and an actuating member mounted to swingon the receptacle and having connection with the valve for operating thesame to fill the auxiliary tank with fluid and to permit the supply offluid to flow from the auxiliary tank to the said water seals.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY M. KEITH.

Witnesses:

W. H. BROWN, DAN GEETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

